Google has blocked users from being able to edit Maps in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, according to BuzzFeed News. It's also deleting all user-submitted places and contributions, such as photos, videos and business information in those countries made since February 24th. The tech giant came to the decision "out of an abundance of caution" after people claimed across social networks that the Russian military has been relying on pins created by users on Maps to coordinate air strikes on Ukraine. 

As BuzzFeed News explains, there are posts circulating on websites like Twitter with screenshots of Maps showing pins labeled "“ФЕРМЕРСЬКЕ ГОСПОДАРСТВО" or Ukrainian for "farm" in Kyiv. People were reportedly claiming that user-made tags saying "farm" or "agriculture" created on February 28th matched the locations of the missile strikes on cities that include Kyiv and Kharkiv. 

Google told the publication, however, that some of the user edits marking locations in Ukraine as "farms" were made a year ago. Even so, it's disabling user contributions to Maps since the Russian invasion had started. A company spokesperson said:

"Out of an abundance of caution, we are removing user contributions like photos, videos, reviews and business information and all user-submitted places from Google Maps in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus since the invasion began, and are temporarily blocking new edits from being made."

A few days ago, the tech giant also removed live traffic data on Maps in Ukraine, most likely to protect the locations of fleeing locals. It blocked the YouTube channels of Russian state-owned media outlets RT and Sputnik on across Europe, as well, following the European Commission's announcement that it would ban what it calls "Kremlin's media machine" in the EU. Other tech companies had also responded to calls to limit their services in Russia and to block access to its state-owned media outlets. Facebook took down fake accounts spreading Russian disinformation and restricted RT's and Sputnik's access to its platform, for instance. More recently, Apple halted all product sales in Russia and disabled all traffic data in Ukraine after a request from Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. 

Google is the latest to join the growing list of tech companies blocking access to Russian state media across Europe. In a tweet, the company has revealed that it's blocking YouTube channels connected to RT and Sputnik in Europe following the European Commission's announcement that it will "ban the Kremlin's media machine in the EU." European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made the declaration a few days ago, adding that RT, Sputnik and their subsidiaries will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin's war."

The tech giant said it'll take time for its systems to fully ramp up, so EU residents may still be able to access channels affiliated with the media organizations at the moment. It also said that it has a team monitoring the situation around the clock to take swift action, perhaps to ensure no new channels pop up to take the place of the ones being blocked. 

YouTube barred the outlets from being able to monetize their content on the platform a few days ago, citing sanctions against their home country. In addition, it made sure their videos appear less frequently as recommendations and made their channels inaccessible in Ukraine following a request from the country's government. Eastern European media outlet Nextatweeted out a copy of the letter Alexander Tkachenko, Ukraine's Minister of Culture and Information Policy, sent to YouTube, in which he asked the website to "block access of the aggressor state's propaganda channels not only in Ukraine, but around the world." So far, YouTube has only blocked RT and Sputnik in Ukraine and the EU.

Facebook restricted access to the state-owned media outlets across the EU a few days ago after it removed their ability to monetize their pages with ads. Twitter halted ads in Ukraine and Russia, as well, "to ensure critical public safety information is elevated and ads don't detract from it." Microsoft followed suit, banning the publications from its ad network, pulling their news apps from the Windows store and de-ranking them in Bing's search results. Google started downranking results from the outlets in 2017, though it's unclear if that has changed over the years. Earlier, TikTok also made the RT and Sputnik accounts inaccessible to audiences within the EU.

Major crypto exchanges including Coinbase and Binance are refusing a request by Ukraine to freeze all Russian accounts, saying that doing so would harm civilians and be counter to their ideals. "To unilaterally decide to ban people’s access to their crypto would fly in the face of the reason why crypto exists,” a Binance spokesperson told CNBC. 

In a tweet, Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Federov asked major crypto exchanges to freeze all Russian and Belarus accounts, not just the accounts of sanctioned oligarchs. "It's crucial to freeze not only the addresses linked to Russian and Belarusian politicians, but also to sabotage ordinary users," he said. 

Such a move would be in line with US and European Union sanctions against Russian banks and leadership designed to cripple the nation's economy. However, freezing crypto holdings could directly impact regular Russian citizens.

Coinbase said it's already sanctioning any persons or entities in Russia as required by law, but won't go any further. "A unilateral and total ban would punish ordinary Russian citizens who are enduring historic currency destabilization as a result of their government’s aggression against a democratic neighbor," it told Motherboard. Binance similarly stated that it wouldn't "unilaterally freeze millions of innocent users’ accounts." 

Binance, on the flip side, said it has committed to donate at least $10 million in humanitarian aide to Ukraine and launched a fundraiser with the goal of raising $20 million. The company is also currently under investigation by the US government for alleged money laundering and insider trading.

Other exchanges including KuCoin also said they wouldn't go beyond anything required by law. Kraken exchange CEO Jesse Powell said that such a move would violate the company's "libertarian values." 

One exception is Dmarket, a Ukraine-based platform that allows people to trade NFTs and virtual in-game items. The company said in a tweet that it had cut "all relationships with Russia and Belarus due to the invasion of Ukraine." 

Ukraine isn't just relying on foreign government aid to finance its defense against the Russian invasion. According to Reuters, Elliptic reports the Ukranian government has raised over $13 million ($13.6 million as of this writing) in cryptocurrency from more than 18,000 contributors after it launched a crowdfunding effort on February 26th to bolster its fight. The country has raised a total of $20.9 million since the invasion began, but got its biggest lift when it published wallet addresses for Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tether on Saturday.

The nation's digital transformation ministry told Reuters it would use the crypto to "destroy as much [sic] Russian soldiers as possible." Unofficial efforts like Come Back Alive and Support Ukranian Sovereignty have also raised cryptocurrency to support the Ukraine military and local charities.

The actions come as cryptocurrency exchanges have partially clamped down on Russia. Finbold and Reuters note Binance has already restricted crypto accounts affected by sanctions against Russia, while Kraken is warning Russians their accounts might be frozen if there's a "legal requirement" to do so. Both exchanges have ruled out blanket bans for all Russian users despite Ukranian Vice Prime Minister Mykhalio Fedorov calling on major exchanges to "sabotage ordinary users" in addition to addresses linked to Russian and Belarusian politicians.

The cryptocurrency donations are tiny compared to the conventional aid Ukraine has received so far. The US government alone contributed $350 million in military support this past weekend. The amount is still significant, though, and it's a novel concept — a country is directly requesting crypto to fuel its military and defend its existence.

On Saturday morning, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine entered its third day, some of the country’s official government websites went down following a series of alleged cyberattacks. Among the sites that aren’t accessible as of the writing of this article include that of the Kremlin and the country’s Ministry of Defence. Several Twitter accounts claiming affiliation with Anonymous say the international hacking collective is behind the attacks.

“Faced with this series of attacks that Ukraine has been suffering from the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, we could not help but support the Ukrainian people,” said one account. At the start of the conflict, the group said it would launch a “cyber war against the Russian government.” However, the Kremlin has denied Anonymous is behind the attacks, according to CNN.

It’s believed Anonymous is also responsible for hacking several Russian state TV channels. People have uploaded videos showing those channels playing Ukrainian music and displaying images of the country’s flag and other nationalistic symbols. 

The collective has also pledged to “keep the Ukrainian people online as best we can,” even as the invasion takes a heavy toll on the country's internet infrastructure. While there hasn’t been a widespread blackout, some parts of Ukraine, particularly those areas where fighting has been the most intense, have seen greatly diminished access. That's something that has prevented people from staying in touch with their loved ones.

Twitter has temporarily paused ads in Ukraine and Russia, one of several steps the company is taking to highlight safety information and minimize “risks associated with the conflict in Ukraine.”

“We’re temporarily pausing advertisements in Ukraine and Russia to ensure critical public safety information is elevated and ads don’t detract from it,” the company wrote in an update that was also shared in Ukrainian. Twitter also said it’s temporarily halting the recommendations feature that surfaces tweets from accounts users’ don’t follow in their home timelines in order to “reduce the spread of abusive content.”

Twitter didn’t indicate how long these measures would be in place, but said it was part of its ongoing work to respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “We’re actively monitoring for risks associated with the conflict in Ukraine, including identifying and disrupting attempts to amplify false and misleading information,” the company said.

The company added that it’s directing users to Moments and Events curated by its editorial team in order to provide additional context about what’s happening in Ukraine. Researchers have warned that misinformation and disinformation about Ukraine will continue to flood social media platforms. 

Twitter said it’s also working to keep “high-profile accounts” safe from hacking attempts. “We’re actively monitoring vulnerable high-profile accounts, including journalists, activists, and government officials and agencies to mitigate any attempts at a targeted takeover or manipulation.” The company’s move comes one day after Facebook announced it was enabling its one-click “lock profile” tool for people in Ukraine to help users there safeguard their personal information.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is now affecting technology trade shows. TechCrunch and Reuters report the GSMA will ban some Russian companies from exhibiting at Mobile World Congress 2022 when it starts February 28th. While the wireless industry association didn't say which companies were barred from attending, it said there would be no Russian Pavilion to showcase that country's mobile products.

There are no plans to cancel or delay MWC 2022 itself, GSMA chief John Hoffman told Reuters. However, the organization said on its website that it would honor all "sanctions and policies" targeting Russia. Some companies are on the sanctions list, Hoffmann added. The measures allow mobile devices, but only as long as they aren't sent to Russian government workers or affiliates.

Like with some trade shows, Russian companies like the carrier VimpelCom can buy dedicated show floor space that could give them a presence. The main ban will primarily affect those companies that were leaning on the Russian Pavilion for a presence.

The bans arrive as tech increasingly serves as a battleground for Russia and its Western opponents. Meta's Facebook and Twitter have respectively taken steps to protect Ukranians and those tracking Russian military movements. Russia, in turn, has limited access to Facebook in retaliation for actions restricting four Russian media outlets. Whether it wants to or not, the GSMA is embroiling itself in politics that could affect the mobile world at large.

Catch up on all of the news from MWC 2022 right here!

Russia is responsible for the cyberattacks that took down the websites for Ukraine's government agencies and major banks back in January, according to The White House. Anne Neuberger, the administration's deputy national security adviser, said the government has "technical information that links the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate or GRU" to the hacks. Neuberger added that "GRU infrastructure was seen transmitting high volumes of communication to Ukraine based IP addresses and domains."

According to AP and Reuters, Britain has also publicly attributed the incident to Russia, saying that the country's GRU military intelligence agency is almost certainly involved. While the attacks managed to take down the targeted Ukrainian websites, Neuberger said they had "limited impact," thanks to the the country's officials that quickly secured and restored them. 

Ukraine's defense and foreign ministries were among the affected websites, and a message in Ukrainian, Russian and Polish left by the attackers on the latter translated to: "Ukrainians! All your personal data has been uploaded to the public network. All data on the computer is destroyed, it is impossible to restore them." The message also referenced the "historical land" and showed crossed-out versions of the Ukraine map and flag. 

The Ukrainian Information Ministry said back then that there were early indications Russia carried out the attacks. In addition, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy also suggested that references to Ukrainian ultra-nationalist groups were merely an attempt by the Russians to mask their footprint. 

Neuberger said the White House is publicly calling out Kremlin, because "[t]he global community must be prepared to shine a light on malicious cyber activity and hold actors accountable for any and all disruptive or destructive cyber activity." Although the attacks had "limited impact," the White House believes Russia could carry out more disruptive activities in the future followed by an invasion of Ukraine. President Biden has announced on Friday that the US has obtained intelligence showing that Russia's Vladimir Putin has made the decision to invade Ukraine in the coming days. 

Sony is still struggling to keep up with the demand for the PlayStation 5 due to the global chip shortage issue affecting companies across industries. It even recently dropped its sales forecast and told analysts that the company expects the console to continue to be in short supply this year, especially in the first half. Indeed, retailers' PS5 listings often show that it's "Out of Stock" or "Currently Unavailable" most of the time, and catching a restock is a race against scalpers and other fans also on the lookout for a unit. Now, Sony has launched a contest that gives you (the semblance of) a chance to finally get your hands on a PS5. 

Over the next few weeks until March 7th 10AM PST/1PM EST, Sony will be releasing 14 unique codes resembling the PlayStation controller through various means. It will post some online, on its social media channels, but it will also release them through high-profile events in sports, gaming, film and music. In other words, you'll have to keep their eyes peeled and maybe even make friends to turn the hunt into a group effort. Finding them doesn't automatically mean you win a console, after all. 

Nope — each code will only give you the opportunity to win a draw for the PS5. You'll have to enter the code in the dedicated page for the promo and then answer a question relevant to where the code was shown before you can be eligible. Oh, and the promo is only open to residents of participating territories:

Argentina, Canada, Chile, Mexico and United States, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, New Zealand, Poland, United Kingdom.

At least you'll have 14 chances to win if you can find all the codes (and live in the right country,) but you may have a better chance just refreshing the PS5's Best Buy listing over and over again. 

Ukraine is grappling with more cyberattacks as fears of an imminent Russian invasion reach their climax. Netblocks and Gizmodo report Ukraine's defense ministry and two state-owned banks, Oshchadbank and Privatbank, have suffered denial-of-service attacks flooding their sites with traffic. The country's armed forces website also appears to have suffered an attack. BuzzFeed's Christopher Miller described consequences for many Ukranians, including difficulties using some ATMs and other banking services.

The attacks weren't directly attributed to Russia, but they came a month after Ukraine blamed its neighbor for a campaign that played havoc with dozens of government websites. The perpetrators used purely destructive malware disguised as ransomware to inflict significant damage. Russia has previously been accused of relying on cyberwarfare to disrupt and influence political rivals like the European Union and the US, although it has repeatedly denied involvement.

The concern, as you might imagine, is that Russia might be using cyberattacks like these to cause havoc ahead of an invasion the US claimed could happen as soon as tomorrow (February 16th). In theory, it might be more difficult for Ukraine to mount an effective response. The January attacks came and went without military action, however, and these latest incidents wouldn't do much to thwart the Ukrainian military or its allies. If Russia is involved, the disruptions might represent pressure tactics to extract concessions, such as a promise not to join NATO.